City Lights Booksonixsuitesupport@onixsuite.com20180319T1441ZengCOM.ONIXSUITE.97819314041430301City Lights Books02193140414303978193140414315978193140414300BC0816oz08454gr0101Beautiful ChaosA Life in the Theater1A0101Onixsuite Contributor ID17050Carey PerloffPerloff, CareyCareyPerloff<p> Carey Perloff was born in Washington, DC, the daughter of Joseph Perloff, a pediatric cardiologist from New Orleans, and Marjorie Perloff, a literary critic and Austrian refugee. Her dream from a young age was to become an archaeologist and discover the next Troy; this led her to study ancient Greek at Stanford and then to migrate to the theater, where she first learned to direct by staging Greek tragedies outdoors while studying theatrical modernism with Martin Esslin. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in classics and comparative literature in 1980, went on a Fulbright Fellowship to Oxford—where she met her British husband, Anthony Giles—fell in love with the work of Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett, and moved to New York to begin her directing career. At age twenty-seven, she was hired to run Classic Stage Company, which she saved from financial ruin by staging vigorous productions of unusual classics and new work with major actors, including the American premieres of Pinter's <em>Mountain Language</em> and Tony Harrison’s <em>Phaedra Britannica</em>, the world premiere of Ezra Pound’s <em>Elektra</em>, and many others. Perloff was the youngest person ever to be hired to run a major LORT theater when A.C.T. chose her in 1992 to become its third artistic director. She took over a ruined building and a demoralized and broke institution and set about bringing it back to life. She’s had deep collaborations with Tom Stoppard, Philip Kan Gotanda, Robert Wilson, Frank Galati, and Timberlake Wertenbaker; with major actors such as Bill Irwin, David Strathairn, BD Wong, and Olympia Dukakis; and with other notable artists from around the world, making A.C.T. a true destination for passionate, literate, and diverse theater. In addition, Perloff has written a number of award-winning plays, including <em>Luminescence Dating</em>, <em>Higher,</em> and <em>Kinship</em>; has taught for many years in A.C.T.’s acclaimed M.F.A. Program and at universities around the country; and has directed dozens of major reinterpretations of classical plays, from <em>Hecuba</em> to ’<em>Tis Pity She’s a Whore</em>, as well as world premieres of new work. She helped rebuild A.C.T.’s Geary Theater after it suffered massive damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and is now involved in opening The Strand, a new performing venue and a long-dreamed-of second stage for A.C.T. Perloff writes and lectures regularly about the American theater and about issues in culture and contemporary life that are close to her heart. She and her husband have two children: Alexandra, who graduated from Harvard in art history and worked in Paris for three years before attending Yale Law School, and Nicholas, who attends Columbia University and is perhaps best known as the electronic music producer Flaxo.</p> <p> AWARDS<br /> 1982 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Production for <em>Greek</em> (L.A. Theatre Works)<br /> 1986 Theatre Communications Group Observership Grant<br /> 1987 National Theatre Conference Award to a Theatrician with Outstanding Career Promise<br /> 1987 U.S./International Theatre Institute Representative to Theater der Welt, Stuttgart, Germany<br /> 1988 OBIE Award to CSC Repertory for Artistic Excellence<br /> 1990 Drama-Logue Award for Best Production for <em>The Collection</em> (Mark Taper Forum)<br /> 1990 Citation of Honor from the League of Professional Theater Women in New York<br /> 1994 Koret Israel Prize<br /> 1996 Drama-Logue Award for Best Production for <em>The Rose Tattoo</em> (A.C.T.)<br /> 1997 Jujamcyn Theaters Award to A.C.T. for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent for the theater<br /> 1999 Lucille Lortel Award to CSC Repertory for Outstanding Body of Work (thirty-two years of excellence in the field)<br /> 2000 Elliot Norton Prize for Outstanding Production by a Large Resident Company for <em>Mary Stuart </em>(Huntington Theatre Company)<br /> 2001 American Theatre Critics Circle Award nomination for Best New Play for <em>The Colossus of Rhodes</em><br /> 2002 The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist for <em>The Colossus of Rhodes</em><br /> 2002 Heideman Award/National Ten-Minute Play Contest for <em>The Morning After (</em>Actors Theatre of Louisville)<br /> 2005 Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Science and Technology Project Commissioning Award for <em>Luminescence Dating</em><br /> 2011 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, government of France<br /> 2012 Blanche and Irving Laurie Theatre Visions Fund Award for <em>Higher</em></p>01eng002680324Internet CL HierarchyArt, Music, Cinema & Drama24Internet CL HierarchyBiography/Memoir24Internet CL HierarchyWomen0300<p><strong>*Choose the Author Tours tab</strong> <strong>above for more info. on Carey's events.</strong></p>
<p>Carey Perloff, Artistic Director of San Francisco's legendary American Conservatory Theater, pens a lively and revealing memoir of her twenty-plus years at the helm, and delivers a provocative and impassioned manifesto for the role of live theater in today's technology-infused world.</p>
<p>Perloff's personal and professional journey—her life as a woman in a male-dominated profession, as a wife and mother, a playwright, director, producer, arts advocate, and citizen in a city erupting with enormous change—is a compelling, entertaining story for anyone interested in how theater gets made. She offers a behind-the-scenes perspective, including her intimate working experiences with well-known actors, directors, and writers including Tom Stoppard, Harold Pinter, Robert Wilson, David Strathairn, and Olympia Dukakis.</p>
<p>Whether reminiscing about her turbulent first years as a young woman taking over an insolvent theater in crisis and transforming it into a thriving, world-class performance space, or ruminating on the potential for its future, Perloff takes on critical questions about arts education, cultural literacy, gender disparity, leadership and power.</p>
<p>Carey Perloff is an award-winning playwright, theater director, and the Artistic Director of the American Conservatory Theater of San Francisco since 1992.</p>
<p><strong><u>Praise for Carey Perloff's <em>Beautiful Chaos</em>:</u></strong></p>
<p>"<em>Beautiful Chaos</em> is an extraordinary journey of Carey Perloff and her theatre, ACT. Their continued evolution and ability to define and re-define themselves with courage, tenacity, and bravery allow them to confront what seem like insurmountable odds. This continues to shape and inspire Carey and those who work with her."—Olympia Dukakis, Academy Award-winning actress</p>
<p>"Carey Perloff's lively, outspoken memoir of adventures in running and directing theatre will be a key document in the story of playmaking in America."—Tom Stoppard, Playwright</p>
<p>"Carey Perloff, quite literally, raised a vibrant new theater from the rubble of an old one. This refreshingly honest account of her triumphs and misfires over the past two decades is both a fascinating read and an invaluable handbook for anyone attempting such a labor of love."—Armistead Maupin, author of <em>Tales of the City </em></p>
<p>"Carey Perloff's marvel of a book is part memoir of a working mother, a passionate artist, a woman flourishing in a male-dominated craft- and part lavish love letter to theater. It is as lively, thoughtful, and insightful an account I have ever read about the art form. This one is for any person who has ever sat in the dark and been spellbound by the transformative power of theater."—Khaled Hosseini, author of <em>The Kite Runner</em></p>
<p>"Carey Perloff is a veteran of the regional theatre wars. <em>Beautiful Chaos</em> is her vivacious account of her ambitious work commanding San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre (ACT). The book exudes Perloff's trademark brio: smart, outspoken, full of fun and ferment."—John Lahr, author of <em>Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh</em></p>
<p>"This is an engaged, engaging, deeply intelligent, and passionate account of why the theatre matters and how it works in a city and in a society. It is also a fascinating and essential chapter in the history of San Francisco itself, as well as the story of a committed theatre artist's determination and vision."—Colm Tóibín, author of <em>Nora Webster</em></p>
<p>"Carey Perloff writes as she talks; with passion, profound insight and a warm and accessible style. The story of ACT under her stewardship is linked with her own growth as an artist and a citizen. She raises some questions, vital to the American theater and offers some provocative and innovative strategies for survival and success. This is not just a great read, it is an important book that demands attention."—Joe Dowling, Director, The Guthrie Theater</p>
<p>"Carey Perloff is one of the very few remaining artistic directors who have remained faithful to the original ideals of the American resident theatre, and her new theatrical biography, <em>Beautiful Chaos</em>, is an engrossing account of how difficult that has been for her in the current economic climate. Her devotion to global theatre, to reanimated classics, to the most penetrating new plays, and to rigorous theatrical training was hardly an easy thing to preserve during the last few profit-centered decades, which makes <em>Beautiful Chaos</em> both a readable adventure and a heroic narrative."—Robert Brustein, Theater Critic<em>, The New Republic</em></p>
<p>"When did we forget that theater is more than sedate art or bottom-line entertainment? How exhilarating to be reminded by Carey Perloff that it is still a grand adventure and a high calling. In Beautiful Chaos: A Life in the Theater, we follow her quest to give San Francisco's renowned American Conservatory Theater a present and future as glorious as its past. A life in the theater demands vision and conscience, not to mention improvisation. 'A playwright,' says Perloff, makes contradictory beliefs 'collide in real time and with equal force.' That's the pleasure of this book. We see her think, plan, persuade and fight; balance the personal and the political. We watch as art and history collide and collaborate. 'I'm a beast of the theater,' Perloff declares. She's a noble beast. And she's a heroine."—Margo Jefferson, Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic</p>
<p>"In my mind, it is indispensable reading for anyone who cares about theatre art, values its profound impact on the quality of human life, and may be curious about how it is made. The book is an inspiration on many levels. First, because it is truly a memoir and necessarily personal. To gain access to the mind and heart of a genius, to survey with her the ordeals and revelations of a historic tenure as the leader of one of America's greatest theatre companies, to hear her authentic voice articulating the 'state of the art' and speculating about its challenging future is to be a privileged companion on an adventure of breathtaking scope. Second, it provides deep insights into those mentors and colleagues who shaped Ms. Perloff's aesthetic (as they shaped the art and literature of the last century): Martin Esslin, Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard and Robert Wilson. Perloff studied with Esslin; at A.C.T. she worked closely with Pinter and Stoppard, and she collaborated with Robert Wilson. Her mastery of the classics, devotion to the Greeks, intimate acquaintance with international theatre artists like Arianne Mnouchkine, Simon McBurney, Peter Brook, Giorgio Strehler, Andrei Serban, Liviu Ciulei and Jerzy Grotowski, and her embrace of the legends and theatrical conventions of Asian theatre art exemplify the range of her aesthetic. And perhaps most thrilling of all is her personal story and its intersection with the harrowing job of rebuilding a ruined theatre and re-imagining a collapsed institution while remaining a devoted wife, mother of two, and citizen of a city and country in the throes of economic and political crisis. Carey Perloff is a lucid and penetrating critic, a passionate and at times hilarious raconteur, an erudite scholar and a warm and generous heart. Her memoir is moving because it is courageous. She tells it like it is and her assessment of the current state of liberal arts and our accelerated and mediated age is a fair warning. She cherishes what the theatre brings and what William Ball envisioned when he created A.C.T., and she aptly quotes Lorca: 'We must always remember . . . that our task is to offer a cup of beauty to the public so that, in drinking, they will understand themselves.'"—Frank Galati, Actor, Writer and Director</p>
<p>"It is a must read for any budding director; in particular those who entertain starting their own theater company. Highly recommended."--Robert Cohen, Associate Professor, Stage Management, Brooklyn College</p>0200Carey Perloff, Artistic Director of San Francisco's A.C.T., offers a provocative, passionate, and deeply personal view of theater's role today.0600<p> "What carries <em>Chaos</em>, and makes it at times a compelling read, is Perloff's wide-ranging mind and often perceptive insights on matters artistic and more earthbound. She isn’t one of those directors given to analyzing and probing her artistic or managerial misfires — there’s very little second-guessing here, even on productions that, charitably, might be looked at as learning opportunities. But there are, yes, brilliant analyses of the work of such artists as Pinter, Samuel Beckett and Robert Wilson. There are passionate and persuasive arguments for the need for arts in the schools, actors’ training and the development of what she calls 'locavore theater,' as well as sharp looks at the tech-driven problems for companies trying to survive in San Francisco today."—Robert Hurwitt</p>San Francisco Chronicle0600<p>"For anyone interested in the complexities of the art of theater, this lively, entertaining and informative book is a must."—Corinna Lothar</p>Washington Times0600<p>"The big questions Perloff tackles—artistic experimentation versus commercial imperative, survival in a changing financial landscape, why make theater and for whom?—are as pertinent in Britain as in San Francisco, or indeed anywhere people are making theater and trying to keep it afloat."—Laura Baggaley</p>Times Literary Supplement UK0600<p> "In a truly inspiring and rewarding read, Perloff recounts her tenure as the artistic director of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). . . . Perloff’s story will certainly appeal to theater lovers, but her memoir will also engage any reader interested in the story of a professional pioneer and an individual working to reinvent a struggling organization." --<em>Booklist</em></p>Booklist01201503150600<p> "Carey Perloff's leadership of American Conservatory Theater is one of the reasons San Francisco remains a respected center of the art form in our country. . . . Perloff raises her voice in support of women in the workplace, in support of arts and artists, and, again and again, in support of live theater. The book is about a passion for theater that has seldom wavered for two decades."—Martin A. David</p>New York Journal of Books01201502050100San Francisco Chroniclehttp://www.sfchronicle.com/books/article/Book-Carey-Perloff-s-second-ACT-6226797.php0100Washington Timeshttp://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/4/book-review-screening-room/print/0100Times Literary Supplement UKhttp://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/0100New York Journal of Bookshttp://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/beautiful-chaos-life-theater01201502050100030201D502021770312506afa39abc3bfb5d0db1678b82fda7b0a50714515http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100775260/images/11cc47e70933d4d928498869e747950a/THUMBNAIL/9781931404143.jpg1720160908T0008Z15000402Beautiful Chaos Excerpt0201E10707487419000http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100775260/extras/BeautifulChaosEXRPTCL.pdf0400030617050Onixsuite Contributor ID0201D501http://www.citylights.com/resources/persons/17050.gif01City Lights Foundation Books04012015011911201501190201GCOI87286100775260WORLD000307631-760XConsortium Book Sales & Distribution612/746-2600612/746-2606info@cbsd.com33www.cbsd.comhttp://www.cbsd.com200117.95USD